Chapter 10 of 13 in Sverige i fokus

Sweden's history: from farming country to information society

Quick answers

When did Sweden become a democracy?

1921. That year the first parliamentary election was held in which both men and women could vote. The decision on universal suffrage was taken in 1918.

What was the people's home (folkhemmet)?

An idea from 1928, formulated by Per Albin Hansson: a society where everyone feels security and community, whatever their background.

What were the record years (rekordåren)?

The period after the Second World War, 1945 to 1976, with a strong economy, low unemployment and major welfare reforms.

When was Sweden founded?

Sverige i fokus gives no founding year. Gustav Vasa was elected king on 6 June 1523, which is seen as the beginning of the Swedish state's independence.

The citizenship test is written in Swedish, so the key Swedish terms are given in brackets the first time they appear. This chapter is also available in Swedish: Sveriges moderna historia.

Chapter 10 of Sverige i fokus covers the last 200 years. During that time Sweden went from a poor farming country to a modern, high-tech welfare society. The chapter covers industrialisation, the road to democracy, the people’s home, the record years and today’s information society. Here you get the most important points explained in plain English, plus the years worth knowing.

When was Sweden founded, and how long has Sweden existed?

The chapter on Sweden’s history begins about 200 years ago. So the test material gives no exact starting year for Sweden. But two dates are important, and they are mentioned in the chapter on holidays. Gustav Vasa was elected king on 6 June 1523. This is usually seen as the beginning of the Swedish state’s independence. On 6 June 1809 Sweden got a new constitution (regeringsform). From then on, the king had to share power with the parliament (riksdagen). That is why 6 June is Sweden’s national day.

The Viking age is not part of Sverige i fokus. So you do not need to learn about Vikings for the civics test. Spend your time on the 1800s and 1900s instead.

From farming society to industrial society

200 years ago Sweden was a farming country. Almost everyone lived in the countryside and worked with land and animals. The towns were small. Sweden was poor compared with other countries in Europe.

During the 1800s this changed. New machines were invented and factories were built. Sweden’s first large industries came in the middle of the 1800s. They were sawmills producing timber goods and industries making steel. Later came factories for shoes, clothes and engineering products. Many people moved from the countryside to the towns to work in the factories.

The population grew quickly. At the start of the 1800s about 2.5 million people lived in Sweden. A hundred years later there were twice as many. The reasons were better farming, which produced more food, and medical progress, which meant fewer children died. But many still struggled to find work. That is why over one million Swedes emigrated (utvandrade) to the USA between 1850 and 1920.

Sweden’s road to democracy

For a long time the king, the nobility, the church, the merchants and the farmers held political power. As society became modern, more people demanded a say. Here are the most important steps:

• 1809: a new constitution limited the king’s power.
• 1865: more people could vote for the parliament. The nobility and the clergy lost their old influence.
• 1909: almost all men got the right to vote.
• 1918: the parliament decided on universal suffrage (allmän rösträtt).
• 1921: the first parliamentary election in which both men and women could vote. Women could now also become members of parliament.

From 1921 Sweden counts as a democracy. Before 1909 only men with a certain income or wealth could vote. The richest also had several votes.

The popular movements

The popular movements (folkrörelserna) were voluntary associations. They gathered people around shared interests and demanded rights, such as the right to vote, an eight-hour working day and freedom of religion. Four of the largest were the labour movement (arbetarrörelsen), the free church movement (frikyrkorörelsen), the women’s movement (kvinnorörelsen) and the temperance movement (nykterhetsrörelsen). Already in the 1800s, hundreds of thousands of people were involved. They started their own libraries and study circles.

The popular movements used legal methods: demonstrations, protest meetings, books and newspaper articles. Many of them still exist today. The women’s movement was especially important in winning the vote for women.

What were the people’s home and the Swedish model?

During the 1920s and 1930s everyday life became more modern. More people got electricity and housing slowly improved. But it was also a troubled time with major conflicts between employers and workers. Many were unemployed and strikes were common. In 1931 the military fired on demonstrating workers in Ådalen. Several people died. The event shook Sweden and showed how deep the conflicts were.

Many wanted to find peaceful solutions. In 1938 employers and trade unions signed an agreement in Saltsjöbaden near Stockholm. It is called the Saltsjöbaden Agreement (Saltsjöbadsavtalet). The agreement laid the foundation for the Swedish model (den svenska modellen). The model means that employers and unions, not politicians, agree on wages and working conditions. This is done in collective agreements (kollektivavtal). Wages in Sweden are still set this way today.

The people’s home (folkhemmet) is an idea from 1928. The Social Democrats’ party leader Per Albin Hansson described a society where everyone would feel security and community, whatever their background. Class differences and political conflicts would become smaller.

The dark sides of modern society

Not everyone got a better life. Racism was widespread in the 1930s. There was so-called race biology research that affected the Sami, Tornedalians, Jews and Roma. The parliament passed laws that made it harder for Roma and Jews to immigrate to Sweden.

People who were considered not to fit in were placed in hospitals or other institutions, sometimes for the rest of their lives. This particularly affected people with mental illness or disabilities. Only in recent times has Sweden given some redress to those affected.

Sweden during the First and Second World Wars

Sweden declared itself neutral (neutralt) during the First World War (1914–1918). The country still suffered shortages of food and other goods. This led to demonstrations and protests.

During the Second World War (1939–1945) Sweden was also neutral and stayed out of the fighting. But the situation became difficult when the Soviet Union attacked Finland and Nazi Germany occupied Denmark and Norway. To avoid being drawn into the war, the government allowed German soldiers to travel through Sweden to Norway and Finland.

During the Holocaust (Förintelsen) the Nazis murdered around 6 million Jews in Europe. In the 1930s and at the start of the war it was hard for Jews to flee to Sweden. Towards the end of the war the policy changed. Around 7,000 Danish Jews fled to Sweden with the help of a Danish-Swedish rescue operation. The diplomat Raoul Wallenberg gave Jews protective passports (skyddspass), papers showing they were under Swedish protection. The Red Cross rescued thousands of people from the concentration camps and drove them to Sweden in white buses.

What were the record years?

After the Second World War Sweden’s economy grew strongly for a long time. Unemployment was very low and the standard of living (levnadsstandarden) rose quickly. The Social Democrats usually held government power on their own from 1945 to 1976. The strong economy made major reforms possible. That is why the period is often called the record years (rekordåren).

The welfare society (välfärdssamhället) was expanded. Working people got a 40-hour week, Saturdays off and five weeks of paid holiday. More people could afford a car, a summer cottage and holidays abroad. Healthcare and elderly care improved. Child allowance, sickness insurance and pensions got better. Many of today’s social security systems date from this time.

Sweden became a country of immigration. Many came from Finland, Greece, Yugoslavia and Turkey to work. In the 1800s Sweden had been a country of emigration. The move to the cities caused a housing shortage. The state therefore launched the Million Programme (miljonprogrammet) in the 1960s. The goal was to build one million homes in ten years. New areas grew up in the suburbs, with larger flats, shops, healthcare and schools.

Gender equality increased. Wage differences between men and women shrank. More women started working outside the home and day nurseries were expanded. The du reform (du-reformen) in the 1960s meant that people said “du” instead of using titles or “ni”. Television arrived in the early 1960s. Many young people became involved in peace, the environment and international solidarity.

The information society and globalisation

From the mid-1970s the industrial society became an information and knowledge society (informationssamhälle). The change began as an economic crisis. Countries in other parts of the world produced cheaper goods. Several large Swedish industries closed and unemployment rose. In 1976 Sweden got a government that was not Social Democratic. Since then, Social Democratic and centre-right (borgerliga) governments have alternated.

In the information society people needed more education. Universities and university colleges were expanded. Knowledge quickly went out of date, so lifelong learning and adult education became more important.

In the 1990s immigration increased again. Many came as refugees from dictatorships and wars. Segregation (segregering) and xenophobia increased. Integration and work against exclusion became important political issues.

From the 1980s individual rights gained greater importance. More people wanted to choose their own school and healthcare, and freedom of choice became a political issue. The rights of children and minorities were strengthened and there were more laws against discrimination. Attitudes towards LGBTQI people changed, from strong discrimination to growing acceptance.

The digital revolution began in the 1990s. Computers, the internet, smartphones and more recently AI have changed how we work, study and communicate. Today Sweden is a high-tech information society with contacts all over the world.

What the test usually asks about

UHR has only published a few sample questions. This list is based on what the chapter emphasises, not on real test questions.

• The years on the road to democracy: 1809, 1865, 1909, 1918 and 1921.
• What the popular movements were and which four were the largest.
• What the people’s home means and who formulated the idea.
• The Saltsjöbaden Agreement of 1938 and what the Swedish model means.
• Sweden’s neutrality during both world wars.
• The record years: when they were, why they are called that and which reforms came.
• The Million Programme and how Sweden became a country of immigration.
• What characterises the information society from the 1970s onwards.

Practise the questions for chapter 10. The questions are our own, not UHR’s. You can also try the practice test.

Difficult words in this chapter

folkrörelse

popular movement: a voluntary association where many people gather around a shared interest, for example temperance or the right to vote

allmän rösträtt

universal suffrage: that all adults can vote, not only those with money

kollektivavtal

collective agreement: an agreement on wages and working conditions between employers and trade unions

välfärdssamhälle

welfare society: a society where the state provides security, for example healthcare, pensions and child allowance

neutral

neutral: not taking sides in a war

utvandra

to emigrate: to move from your country to another country

levnadsstandard

standard of living: how well people live financially: housing, food, money

segregering

segregation: that different groups live apart from each other, for example in different residential areas

The course

The full course, all 13 chapters

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• Lessons for every chapter of Sverige i fokus
• Practice questions with explanations and page references
• A mock test in the same form as the August test
• Difficult words explained in plain Swedish

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Sources

• Sverige i fokus, UHR (2026): s. 32–38 (kapitel 10). Uppgiften om Gustav Vasa 1523 och regeringsformen 1809 kommer från s. 46 (kapitel 13).